Lawyer says Google shut down his Gmail, Voice and Photos after NotebookLM upload (discrepancyreport.com)

In a troubling incident for digital privacy and AI ethics, Brian Chase, a lawyer and adjunct professor, reported that Google shut down his Gmail, Google Voice, and Photos accounts after he uploaded text-only law enforcement reports to its AI tool, NotebookLM. Chase claimed that within seconds of the upload, he received a notification stating he had violated Google's terms of service due to the sensitive nature of the content, even though no illegal material was included. This abrupt account lockout left him unable to access critical personal and professional information. This event raises significant concerns within the AI and legal communities about how automated systems enforce content policies and the lack of transparency and recourse for users. While Google's NotebookLM and OpenAI's ChatGPT have shown patterns of refusing sensitive material—such as documents from the Epstein case—other platforms like DeepSeek operate without the same restrictions, highlighting inconsistencies in AI content moderation strategies. The situation underscores the broader implications of AI tools on user rights and data accessibility, as well as the urgent need for clearer guidelines around lawful uploads and the potential consequences of AI system decisions.